“17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” Psalm139:17-18 KJV
“
O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do]; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken], Behold, O Lord, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And [You have] placed Your hand upon me. 6 Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, And the night will be the only light around me,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You, But the night shines as bright as the day; Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were appointed for me, When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:1-18 AMP
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10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia[a] to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac.By this[b] I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden[c] whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel,[d] and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.” 28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. Genesis: 24:1-28 ESV
When I wrote the post in this series that precedes this one the focus was on the servant.
Now…..years later, I am finally getting around to continuing in this series from the book of Genesis.
I am re-posting the posts I had written so far, and intend to take up where I left off and write part 32. However, as I have been re-posting I have noticed some characters that I originally skipped. I have decided to share glimpses I hope to capture of God’s “loving pursuit” of them, too. That is why you will see letters such as “b” and “c” added to the titles of these recent posts.
Today I want to look at Rebekah.
A maiden of both outward and inward beauty, made her way to the well that evening. She wasn’t alone. A number of other women were on the same errand. How many young and attractive ladies were there among them? I would imagine quite a few.
However, the servant’s prayer reveals that there was criteria of greater value that would be required in his selection of his master’s daughter-in-law. He didn’t have to look far. The answer to his petition was already being delivered to him before he even began to pray and had arrived before that prayer was concluded!
Who was this maiden? The above passage of scripture tells us a little. But who was she? What were her habits? Her quirks? Her personality and temperament? Her hopes and dreams?
The upcoming chapters of the book of Genesis will provide some clues for us, but much will still remain a mystery….a mystery to us but not to the Lord. He allowed Rebekah to choose whether she would become Isaac’s wife. Yet He also knew beforehand what her decision would be, and in His unsurpassed loving and gracious manner mapped out her life accordingly.
Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just click here: www.biblegateway.com They have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!
” 8 Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.” Psalm 25:8-10 KJV
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” 1Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.2 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had,“Put your hand under my thigh,3 that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,4 but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”5 The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”6 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia[a] to the city of Nahor.11 And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
12And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.13 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac.By this[b] I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.16 The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden[c] whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.”18 She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel,[d] and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,23 and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”25 She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.”26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. Genesis: 24:1-28 ESV
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Today I want to look at Abraham’s servant. He just touches my heart! Did you notice the love? I’m sure he must have had his own moments when he sinned, because the scripture tells us that all people (even people of faith) sin:
“12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men[e] because all sinned—13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” Romans 5:12-14 ESV
However, He knew Abraham, his master, well, and he loved him. It says he was the oldest of his household. That would be pretty old. Just think of all he had witnessed…all of the happy times, all of the sad times..all of his master’s habits, and weaknesses……..and all of his master’s endearing qualities, and his great faith. He also knew his master’s Lord and had faith in Him and Love for Him. Can’t you tell? How else could he speak like that?
Just think about that man.
Wouldn’t you like to spend a day on the job with him, and then sit around the fire with him later on towards bedtime, and listen to the stories he could tell? Just think how privileged you would be if you allowed him to share the wisdom he had gleaned! He is one of my favorite characters in the Bible.
The Lord cared for him, too, and was his guide. He cares for all that he has created, and leads all who trust in Him and in turn, call on Him. He gives them so much cause for rejoicing.
Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just click here:www.biblegateway.comThey have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!
“1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” John 10:1-5 KJV
“1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
15 And God said unto Abraham,As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.” Genesis 17 KJV
Today I am thinking about names. I am not sure about the customs of all of the nations in the world today, but in America babies names are selected for various reasons. Some reasons seem noble, while other reasons are merely whimsical….chosen because they sound pleasant when spoken aloud. Still others will venture to choose names for silly reasons.
Back in Biblical times names always signified something important about a person or even the circumstances surrounding his or her birth. There were even some occasions when the Lord changed a person’s standing…his or her station, and bestowed a new name on that person which would signify that change. That is exactly what happened in Genesis 17.
In this chapter we are given a view of the scope of a special covenant. Special blessings had been poured out that would in time transform these sojourners into a royal procession, and not only that, but The Lord’s covenant would be established with Isaac. Both Abram’s ( father of many) and Sarai’s (my lady or my princess) names were changed to Abraham (father of many nations) and Sarah (the princess of a multitude) Here is a link to the source that gave me that information: http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/guz/view.cgi?bk=0&ch=17
Some people like their names and some do not, but the Lord graciously assigns an identity to each and every one of His children that is unique and noble. He calls us and we recognize that and we follow Him. It is a beautiful thing to consider.
I really enjoy getting comments and look forward to reading and to responding to them. Currently my computer is not working, and I am writing my blog posts at the library. Please be patient, and I will reply as soon as I am able. ❤
Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just click here:www.biblegateway.comThey have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!
“29 Are not two [j]little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice.
30 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 AMP
“6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.’ 1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV
“1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said to Abram, See here, the Lord has restrained me from bearing [children]. I am asking you to have intercourse with my maid; it may be that I can obtain children by her. And Abram listened to and heeded what Sarai said.
3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her Egyptian maid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife.
4 And he had intercourse with Hagar, and she became pregnant; and when she saw that she was with child, she looked with contempt upon her mistress and despised her.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, May [the responsibility for] my wrong and deprivation of rights be upon you! I gave my maid into your bosom, and when she saw that she was with child, I was contemptible and despised in her eyes. May the Lord be the judge between you and me.
6 But Abram said to Sarai, See here, your maid is in your hands and power; do as you please with her. And when Sarai dealt severely with her, humbling and afflicting her, she [Hagar] fled from her.
But [a]the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness on the road to Shur.
8 And He said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where did you come from, and where are you intending to go? And she said, I am running away from my mistress Sarai.
9 The Angel of the Lord said to her,Go back to your mistress and [humbly] submit to her control.
10 Also the Angel of the Lord said to her,I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And the Angel of the Lord continued,See now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael [God hears], because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your affliction.
12 And he [Ishmael] will be as a [b]wild ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man’s hand against him, and he will live to the east and on the borders of all his kinsmen.
13 So she called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her, You are a God of seeing, for she said, Have I [not] even here [in the wilderness] looked upon Him Who sees me [and lived]?Or have I here also seen [the future purposes or designs of] Him Who sees me?
14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi [A well to the Living One Who sees me]; it is[c]between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore[d]Ishmael.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael.” Genesis 16:1-16 AMP
Here we are in Genesis 16 facing an interesting situation. The Lord had spoken to Abram on a number of occasions concerning offspring (note the scripture below), and if you look at Genesis 15:6 you will see that it says that Abram believed the Lord. Abram was a lot like us. He had some information, but not all of the information. I think a lot of people in a situation like theirs would reason and conclude that a surrogate mother was the means the Lord intended them to use. I can sympathize with Abram, Sarah, and Hagar. However the Lord had His own plan. The same God who sees every sparrow that falls looked upon them….all of them. He looks upon us, too, and He cares for us.
1Now the Lord said[a] to Abram, “Go from your country[b] and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3 ESV
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him,“Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are,northward and southward and eastward and westward,15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”Genesis 13:14-17 ESV
God’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:“Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue[a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him:“This man shall not be your heir; your very own son[b] shall be your heir.”5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him,“So shall your offspring be.”6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
7 And he said to him,“I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”9 He said to him,“Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.13 Then theLord said to Abram,“Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterwardthey shall come out with great possessions.15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,“To your offspring I give[c] this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”Genesis 15 ESV
On December 20, 2013 I started a series titled “A Loving Pursuit”. I am resuming my study tonight. Below are the links to the other posts in the series for anyone who would like to start from the beginning and catch up. Although I started in Genesis, and am working my way through the Bible I won’t make a post on every chapter of every book, so if you only wish to read occasionally it really doesn’t matter what order you read the posts or if you only read some of them.
Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just click here: www.biblegateway.com They have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!
“25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, Lamech was born to him.
26 Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters.
27 So Methuselah lived 969 years, and he died.
28 When Lamech was 182 years old, a son was born.
29 He named him Noah, saying, This one shall bring us relief and comfort from our work and the [grievous] toil of our hands due to the ground being cursed by the Lord.” Genesis 5:25-29 AMP
15 And God spoke to Noah, saying,
16 Go forth from the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives with you.
17 Bring forth every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the ground—that they may breed abundantly on the land and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.
18 And Noah went forth, and his wife and his sons and their wives with him [after being in the ark one year and ten days].
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, every bird—and whatever moves on the land—went forth by families out of the ark.
20 And Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean [four-footed] animal and of every clean fowl or bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 When the Lord smelled the pleasing odor [a scent of satisfaction to His heart], the Lord said to Himself, I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination (the strong desire) of man’s heart is evil and wicked from his youth; neither will I ever again smite and destroy every living thing, as I have done.
22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8;15-22 AMP
“9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is,already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.[a]” Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 ESV
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” Hosea 10:12 KJV
My intention when I started this series was to hopefully write every day, or at least a few times a week, but look how long it has been. I am such a mess. If you have hopes of being the model wife, or mother, or housekeeper, or blogger don’t look at me. If you are in search of the secret to becoming slim and trim, financially secure, or even the life of the party you won’t find it here. I am none of those things. If I were graded on those things my report card would be made up of C’s and D’s…and even an ‘F’ or two.
However, I am still trusting that the Lord loves me. I still believe that if I am to have any peace, or experience any joy in my life it will only come from my knowledge of the Lord. It has always worked for me without fail, so I will keep on praying and reading the Bible.
It is magical in a way.
I just love how I feel as I turn each page, and in a sense, enter that kingdom. During those times all of my own issues just fade away as I make myself at home there. Even hours later while I am doing household chores I find that each little task will hold some analogy that bears witness to that kingdom. Have you ever experienced that, ever felt that way, and just wished you knew someone who could identify?
Now that might be a reason to come here. 🙂
A little while ago I was looking at Genesis 5:28-29, and how it offered hope concerning the cursed ground and the grievous toil of their hands, and thought about the destruction that would need to take place first. During the fall and winter my yard doesn’t look so great. The oak, maple and sweet gum trees all lose their leaves, and the hydrangeas look pathetic. Then we will have an ice storm or two that will cause our pine tree to lose great big limbs. In March or April we start to clean up the yard, so it will look better when everything starts to grow again.
My life gets pretty messy, too from season to season. I’m a messy person in more ways than one. I always hope that I will become ‘neater’, but I have a long way to go and an even shorter time to get there. I am beginning to realize that maybe I should hope a little less in myself and just focus on these words and be glad:
“9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everythingbeautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is,already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.[a]” Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 ESV
“Sow for yourselves righteousness
Reap in mercy,
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord
Til He comes and rains righteousness on you. ” Hosea 10:12
Sow righteousness reap in mercy break up your fallow ground
for it is time to seek the Lord while He can be found.
Today I am praying that the Lord will help me to do that…to go to Him and allow Him to till the hard and unused portions of my heart, to destroy all that must be destroyed there, so it, too will be beautiful.
Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just clickhere:www.biblegateway.comThey have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 KJV
1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8 KJV
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“Dayspring” by Theresa Anne Moore
The rain came down relentlessly.
Submerging all the eye could see.
The vessel was the one exception.
It stayed afloat with clear reception.
The curse dissolved for all involved.
With new resolve the earth revolved.
By and by, the rain subsided.
Ground appeared. The raven glided
The dove went forth three times to fly.
The covering was lifted. The earth was dry.
The Lord spoke. The time was at hand
For Noah to step onto the land.
He made burnt offerings unto the Lord.
That were received, a sweet accord.
In spite of mankind’s evil bent,
The Lord would work His own intent.
Night and day and all of the seasons
Would be sustained for loving reasons.
Do you have a Bible? If you don’t have one, you need not worry. Just click here:www.biblegateway.comThey have many versions and translations of the Bible that you can read. Some of the best things in life are free!
Eight years ago I wrote a post here at my “Moore To Ponder” blog. It still encourages me today. I hope it will bless you. Here is the link to that post.
“1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:1-2
After a long pause in writing anything devotional I decided to get my feet wet tonight.
I had been reading passages out of a Sunday school quarterly and although I understood the lesson, I just wanted to go somewhere else.
So I did.
I decided to read from Ephesians, and stopped after Ephesians 1:2.
You might be thinking, “Well she didn’t get very far.”, but you know what? I really did. Whenever I believe I have truly heard from God and the message is “Grace be to you and peace” that is a message worth quietly contemplating.
“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17 KJV
“1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
“26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27 KJV
I just love hymns. I like to sing them at home. This is one I have sung many times at my kitchen sink.
“I Am Thine O Lord” by Fanny Crosby
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain
Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer…
Moore to Ponder 